Rumours

Jeep to bring in a new small SUV model

by Monalisa Saha on Monday, Jan 29 2018

Jeep is the iconic name that is synonymous with tough SUVs. When the name ‘Jeep’ comes on one’s mind, usually the picture of a massive, boxy, rough and rugged SUV automatically flashes in the mind. However, the iconic American SUV manufacturer is not all about large SUVs, as it has more compact models in its lineup as well, such as the Compass that is so very popular in India. However, the smallest and the cheapest of the lot in the global Jeep lineup is the Renegade. The Jeep Renegade might be small, but in terms of efficacy and pocket pinch, it is an ideal SUV that one might ever want. Going by the massive popularity of the mini SUV’s Jeep has been considering bringing out an even smaller SUV model to sit below the Renegade. Thus, Jeep is planning to launch a subcompact SUV in the global market, which would be a perfect choice for India as well.

While speaking on this development, the head of Jeep Mike Manley said that the company is very closely studying at a possible sub-4 meter compact SUV model at the recently held 2018 Detroit Motor Show. The subcompact SUV model could be manufactured at Fiat Chrysler Auto's Pomigliano plant based close to Naples in Italy. It has also come to light that this new mini Jeep will be offered for sale in several car markets internationally including the European markets, where small SUV models are greatly in demand. However, the new SUV will not be offered for sale in the car market of US, where the demand for mini SUVs is significantly less.

The American SUV maker has been planning about the addition of a subcompact SUV to its range for around a year now, but it was being stalled on in its way of fruition. The new upcoming sub-4 meter SUV from the house of Jeep is expected to retain the hard-core Jeep SUV DNA, despite being a considerably smaller model as compared against the other Jeep models, and this would require special efforts from the company.

Concrete details about the upcoming new subcompact Jeep SUV are still scarce, but as per reports it might be underpinned by FCA's Mini platform which also underpins the global mini models such as the Fiat Panda 500 and also Lancia Ypilson. The Fiat Panda gets rolled out from the Pomigliano plant and will be moved to FCA’s Poland factory in a about a couple of years. This will offer space for manufacturing the new subcompact SUV in the Italy facility.

However, the final decision is said to be yet taken, which is likely to happen by mid-2018. For now, the upcoming Jeep subcompact SUV sounds really good and a perfect one for the Indian market, but there is yet no word of it ever coming to India. Considering the sub Rs. 10 lakh mini SUV market is really hot in India Jeep may well think of bringing this new upcoming subcompact product here. In the time being, the Jeep Renegade which has been testing in India for quite long now, is expected to launch soon to fight out with the popular Hyundai Creta and the likes.